[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 91 (Tuesday, July 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF NORTH BAY STAND DOWN 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 9, 2002

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the importance of North Bay Stand Down 2002 as a vehicle for providing 
homeless and at-risk veterans in Napa, Solano and Yolo Counties with 
access to existing and planned programs.
  Many of these veterans have never applied for the benefits they have 
earned through their service to our country. Through the user-friendly 
``veterans helping veterans'' atmosphere of North Bay Stand Down 2002 
they will be encouraged to transform the despair and immobility of 
homelessness into the momentum necessary to get in to recovery, to 
resolve legal issues, to seek employment, to access health services and 
benefits, to reconnect with the community and to get off the street.
  It is estimated that veterans comprise nearly 30 percent of our 
homeless population nationwide. For them, life on the streets can be 
both dangerous and debilitating and often leads to feelings of 
hopelessness.
  North Bay Stand Down 2002 will help veterans free themselves from 
this self-defeating cycle of despair and begin to repair their lives by 
breaking down the barriers that contribute to their isolation.
  North Bay Stand Down 2002 has the support of the U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs, the California State Department of Veterans Affairs, 
the State Employment Development Department, local governments and 
veterans' and trade organizations and members of the community.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we acknowledge and honor today 
the men and women who organized North Bay Stand Down 2002 for their 
commitment to our veterans and to our country.

                          ____________________